Vanities and Presumptions
by xXFlightFromDeathXx
Summary: The story of Lily and James. How she won him over without trying, and how he changed her mind with hot chocolate. Starts in their fifth year. As canon as possible.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is supposed to be close to the end of their fifth year. If I got the date wrong, just let me know.**

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><p>April 19, 1976<p>

"You know what your problem is, Prongs?" Sirius plonked himself into the chair next to where James was studying, displacing a large amount of books and papers in the process.

"We have OWLs in two weeks?"

"Wrong again. Your lack of girlfriend."

"You know what your problem is? Your abundance of girlfriends."

"Shut up. Just listen to me."

"Not now, Sirius. I do need to study."

"No. You need to study _less_. And I know just the thing for you.. A girlfriend!"

"What are you? Some kind of salesman?"

"Well, actually..."

"Don't answer that."

"Sirius, I don't know if it's _possible_ for James to study less." Remus poked his head out from behind his large pile of books. "He's just starting to organize everything now!"

"Oh! Hi there Moony! Didn't see you there behind all those books." Sirius' face curled in mock-disgust. "Come on you guys; I really need a distraction after all this studying!"

"Studying?" James looked incredulous. "Weren't you off with that Hufflepuff girl? Sarah?"

"We're study partners."

"Studying what? Anatomy?" Three of the four boys snorted into their books and were immediately rendered serious by one look from the librarian.

"James, I don't even take anatomy." This set off another round of laughter that only stopped when Sirius got the joke.

"What I do in my free time is completely irrelevant, anyway." Sirius crossed his arms, stuck his nose in the air, and turned away, causing Peter to fall out of his chair, and James and Remus to choke back laughter.

Sirius whipped right back around as soon as he realized this wasn't going to get a reaction. "Please humor me? I need some kind of a distraction before I go insane!"

"Fine." James dropped his quill. "I've studied for two hours already, I think I deserve a break. Moony?"

"Oh, all right. I suppose we could _all_ do with a bit of a break. Coming, Wormtail?"

"Of course. Where are we going, Sirius?"

"Common room. The environment there is, uh, slightly less studious."

That was an understatement. The common room was completely full of students blowing off steam before exams. A couple of sixth years had invented a game using exploding snap cards which they creatively named 'giant exploding snap.' They had gathered as many card decks as they could, and were attempting to create the biggest explosion possible. So far they had blown off about three eyebrows. Some of the fourth years were trying to charm a radio to receive muggle stations. There were plenty of magazines, games of hangman, and chess out, but not a textbook in sight. Everyone with even the slightest intention of studying had abandoned the common room. If it weren't for the occasional prefect reminding everyone to go study, and the conspicuous lack of newt students, you would hardly have guessed that exams were so near. Even those with O.W.L.s coming up seemed to want to celebrate the end of the year being so near.

"Alright Prongs." Sirius had already kicked some first years off his favorite couch and was sprawled out, somehow maintaining the air of a psychiatrist. "Who do you think is the prettiest girl?"

"I think that Hogwarts is seriously lacking in attractive girls, and there is no one here I have any interest in dating." James' face remained straight, but his eyes were sparkling with laughter.

"Hey! Sarah is damn hot. Who says Hogwarts doesn't have pretty girls?"

"Yeah, she's pretty, but she's madly in love with you and wouldn't have me even if she was my type."

"Well, what about Evans? You're always asking her out and generally annoying her." Sirius waggled his eyebrows in what he thought was a suggestive way, but just made him look like a fish.

"Evans? I suppose some people might think she's hot, but she is certainly not attractive enough to be _my_ girlfriend."

"Oh, looks like Prongsie-boy has high standards. Well, how about..."

The Lily Evans in question was walking down the stairs from the girls dormitory when she heard them talking about her and paused to listen. She immediately wished she hadn't when she heard what Potter had to say about her.

Despite his constant badgering, cheesy pick-up lines, and his habit of hexing everything in sight, Lily had always been fairly flattered that James had taken notice of _her_ and no one else. And here was the truth that he didn't even find her remotely attractive? Annoying as he was he really gave Lily quite the ego-boost.

Lily held back tears until she was safely in her bed, where she curled up with the curtains closed and cried until she realized she wasn't supposed to care what James Potter thought anyway. Wasn't she the one that regularly told him his hair looked like birds lived in it? And besides, if even Sarah Williams, allegedly the best looking girl in their year, wasn't good enough for Potter, he was never _ever_ going to find himself a girlfriend, whether he wanted one or not.

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><p>Unfortunately for Lily, her self-isolation did not go unnoticed by her friends.<p>

"And I thought _I _had an early night last night." Alice poked her head through Lily's drawn curtains to find an almost awake Lily sitting up in bed. "When did you come up? And why on _earth_ so early?"

"Oh ... I ... uh ... wanted someplace quiet to study."

"In the dark. With your books downstairs."

"Well ..." The pattern of stars on Lily's duvet started to look every interesting.

"I came upstairs at _eight_ for my transfiguration things and your curtains were already drawn with you inside."

"How do you know?" Alice rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright."

"So what happened?"

"I overheard Potter and Black, and, well, it upset me a little."

"_They_ said something that upset _you_? Wow, it must have been bad."

"I suppose it wasn't _that_ bad. Black asked about girls, and then me specifically, and Potter kinda trashed me."

"What do you want with that pompous prat anyway?" Alice gave Lily a comforting squeeze.

"Haha, yeah." Lily smiled weakly. "I suppose you're right."

"Come on Lily. Let's go find Marlene and treat ourselves to lava cakes for breakfast in the kitchens."

"Sounds brilliant."

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><p><strong>AN: Please review! This is going to be a long fic; props to anyone who can guess what it's based on. Chapter 2 will be up soon, as it's already written, and after that I'll try and update regularly, depending on the reception this gets. I'm really excited to write this (it's my first long fic), and I hope you guys like it!<strong>

**~K**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I know this took a long time; I lost my sketchbook for a little while and couldn't type it up. Any guesses as to what it's based on yet?**

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><p>October 8, 1976<p>

"Hi." James Potter walked into Lily's favorite homework corner in the library.

"Hey Potter. Remus just left for the common room." Lily's eyes never left her essay.

"Actually Lily, I was looking for you." The use of her first name made her look up.

"Lily. I've really tried not to but I don't think I can help it. I just wanted to say … I really and truly like you." Lily's hand jerked and she abruptly knocked over her stack of books. James knelt down to pick them up, all the while talking. "Look, I know I haven't been fair to you and I know I don't leave you alone, but in all honesty, you were friends with _Snape,_ and you can't pretend he's some kind of – oh, forget it. Lily, do you think there is any part of you that would maybe sort of want to go out with me?"

Lily looked down and ran her fingers through her hair to cover her ears that were slowly turning red. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the pain she was about to inflict on him. Perhaps he didn't deserve this rejection, but at the time she really thought he did.

"I don't know what part of you thought I'd say yes but you certainly shouldn't have listened to it. You've tried _not _to like me? Do you think I want to be associated with someone who thinks I'm so far below them? And look at the way you treat people! I may not be friends with Snape anymore but I can still see everything you do to him. And I _know_ he's never done anything to you. And Amos Diggory? I can't understand why you and your little gang shun him like that.

You destroyed Marlene's happiness _too_. Because you think you're so great as to control all your friends relationships. Marlene was in Remus's neighborhood this summer, but did you bother to tell him that? No! Because you and your big head think you know better about your friends relationships than you do. I honestly don't see why you'd ever think I'd go out with you; I've already told you I don't like big-headed arseholes, and that still stands!

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><p>Lily couldn't sleep. As she tossed and turned she could see the sun beginning to rise beyond the lake. As the mist lifted the lake seemed to sparkle like it was alive. Lily rose and dressed silently so as not to wake her roommates and snuck out for a walk around the lake before breakfast.<p>

As lily walked away from the castle she saw another figure approaching her in the mistily light. Whether teacher or student, Lily had little desire for human contact, and abruptly turned and hurried around the lake in the other direction. She heard the person behind her start to run, thought "oh, crap," and gave into the fact that she would have to face them.

James Potter caught up to her, breathless. Lily let out a sigh. He was the last person she wanted to see. After a few seconds with his hands on his knees to catch his breath he shoved a letter into Lily's hand, muttered, "just read it," and rushed off.

Figuring that there would be no one out of doors for another hour or two, LIly sat down next to the lake to read the letter.

_Lily––_

_ First off, there are no declarations of love or crazy propositions in this letter. I merely wished to explain myself. Yesterday when you rejected me you accused me of two things. Firstly, I treat Amos Diggory badly. You said yesterday that we shun him even though he tries to be friends with us. I don't think you'd remember, but this wasn't always true. You probably don't know what Sirius's relationship with his parents is like, so I'll tell you, but if you tell anyone I'll never forgive you. _

_ It is common knowledge that Sirius's family is indeed the notorious pure-blood supremacist Black family. You also might remember that when he was sorted into Gryffindor his mother threw a fit. He tried to hide them, but howlers came every day for the first month of school. We (Remus, Peter, and I) tried to make him feel at home, and show him that we were his new family. Amos Diggory felt differently. For at least our first four years he made it clear he feels Sirius should be in Slytherin with the rest of his family. Last year, when Sirius developed quite the following amongst the girls here, Diggory tried to cash in on that, but we felt we could not trust him. Also, Sirius has finally severed all ties with his family and he lives with me now. Please don't tell anyone._

_ The second thing you accused me of yesterday was destroying Marlene's happiness. Firstly, I think that's a bit harsh; both she and Remus would move on eventually if they had to. I don't deny separating them, but I believe I did it for Remus's own good. Remus has many secrets that I cannot share with you, but I can tell you they affect his life profoundly in every way. He was apprehensive about entering into a relationship with Marlene, as he felt he would ruin her life with his. At first I was glad to see him so happy, but I too grew cautious. I did not believe Marlene's feelings were as deep or as involved as Remus's, and so I encouraged him to break it off. He was ready to share his deepest secrets with her, and I did not think she was worth it. From what you said yesterday, I think I may have been wrong. I'm not going to deny that I kept them apart this summer, but I will tell you why. Remus was not yet over her. I didn't think he could see her without falling for her again, and I did not want that at any cost._

_ I know I should have said all of this yesterday, but I couldn't think straight. I didn't know what to and what not to tell you. If you don't believe anything in this letter, ask Sirius. I really am telling the truth, and all I have to add is that I wish you all the best._

_ Yours,  
><em>_James_

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><p><em><em>**AN: Please review! I promise I'll update as fast as I can. And whoever guesses what I've based this on gets a prize! (Which may or may not be limited to bragging rights)**

**~K**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So I've decided to try something crazy and try updating every other day. We'll see how well it works. A bunch of people have guessed by now that it's based on Pride and Prejudice; they're right!**

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><p>December 19, 1976<p>

Lily picked her way through the snow, silently thanking her new boots for keeping her feet dry in the unexpected snow. It was her first trip to the lake district, having been dragged there by her family, much against her wishes. Despite her initial prejudice she couldn't help but admire the beauty of the hills around her caked in snow, and the lakes edged with ice that didn't look nearly thick enough, but people were already started to venture out into the middle of the water.

"Aren't you glad we came?" Lily's mother appeared behind her to enjoy the view.

"Yes, I suppose you were right. And thankfully nature isn't really Petunia's thing."

"Lily." Rose hated the rift that had grown between her two daughters. "You two just have different ideas of what a holiday should be." Petunia had opted out of the walk and was in the hotel with her new boyfriend. Their father was on an urgent business trip in America, much to everyone's disappointment except Petunia, who took the opportunity to bring her boyfriend in his place.

Their party had divided into two groups: Lily, her mother and her mother's sister, Amelia, and Petunia and her boyfriend. Petunia and her boyfriend rarely ventured very far from the hotel; they occasionally went shopping, but refused to spend time with the other three, mainly because Petunia couldn't stand Lily's presence, and had told her boyfriend that she was crazy, so he preferred not to hang around Lily either.

As Lily returned from her thoughts she realized they had reached an unfamiliar area of forest; she could see no sign of path whatsoever.

"Mum? Do you know where we are?"

"No. Amelia?"

"No idea. Did we forget the maps?"

"Shit." Lily knew she had been leading them without paying attention. "I think there's a clearing over there." She pointed up ahead. It did look as though the trees up ahead were further apart and better spaced. As they approached Lily could see a huge wrought iron gate looming over them. It wasn't just swirls and flowers, but images of lions and, wait, was that a hippogriff?

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! No! That's definitely cheating!" A figure covered in snow rushed past, with snowballs that seemed to be pelting him completely of their own accord. Another figure rushed past, laughing madly, and then stopped to catch his breath. He turned and saw Lily, her mum and her aunt outside the gate.

"Bloody hell! James! Look who's here!" James came rushing back, the snowballs still hitting him.

"Let them off you bloody idiot!" Sirius waved his wand. "Who did you say was here?"

"Take a look." Sirius nodded at the gate. Lily stood there, the bewilderment on her face only matched by that on her aunt's, who had no knowledge that Lily was a witch, and had gone pale at seeing the animated snowballs.

"Lily? Is that the James you're always complaining about? The one from school?"

"Yes mum. Do you _live_ here?" The house behind them was immense. It looked hundreds of years old and as if it had at least thirty rooms, maybe more.

"Oh, err…" James turned around as if to check that the house behind him was his, "Yes." Sirius elbowed James in the ribs, hard. "Do you want to come in? Mrs Evans and, err…"

"Call me Rose. And this is my sister, Amelia."

"Why don't you all come in? It's… uh… nearly tea-time." James's ears were turning bright red, and Lily suspected it wasn't because of the cold. Other than her outburst upon seeing the size of his house, Lily had not spoken to James since he handed her his letter on that misty morning by the lake. She tried to hint to her mother that anything would be better than going into James Potter's (admittedly beautiful) house and meeting his parents, but James was already opening the gates and talking to her mother. He was being uncharacteristically charming, offering to hold her things and making small talk.

Sirius joined Lily, who was standing, bewildered, watching James win over her mother and aunt at once.

"You have no idea how confused I am. I knew he was rich, but _this_? This is more than the Malfoys!"

"I know. The Potters are a relatively new name, so they're not really what you think of when you think of big pure-blood family. What exactly are you doing here anyway?"

"We're on holiday, but we got lost in the woods." Lily couldn't believe the grounds around her. Streams edged in ice fed into ponds frozen inches thick. Pristine snow frosted the scene, down to each twig on each tree, freezing the moment eternal. Had she accepted James she might have spent her whole holiday here, perhaps even the rest of her life if things had worked out. She would have had full reign of the place, as Young Master Potter's lady. There must be a ballroom in there, there could be a christmas ball, a glittering, extravagant affair, full of rich families, sparkling gowns and sumptuous feasts. She would be the guest of honor, of course, entering light as air on James's arm, all eyes on her. Wait, on James's arm? Lily reminded herself that she would rather live in a one room apartment alone than live in such pompous grandeur with _James Potter_.

"… So? Are you staying in town?" Sirius had clearly asked more than once

"Oh, yes" Lily blushed at the thought of her daydream. "At the Red Lion."

"I'll bet it's not as nice as this"

"Not even close." Their rooms were dark and smoky and downright unpleasant. Lily could not understand how her sister spent so much time there.

"Lily!" Rose, Amelia and James had stopped and turned around. "Your lovely friend James has asked us if we would like to stay here instead of in town. He says they have plenty of guest rooms."

**Leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: To the people out there that care: So sorry I didn't post this earlier! **

**I made a deviantart: thelittlestlady . deviantart . com - there are drawings of the Marauders on there! Lots more is on its way.**

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><p>"Lily!" Rose, Amerlia and James had stopped and turned around. "Your lovely friend James has asked us if we would like to stay here instead of in town. He says they have plenty of guest rooms."<p>

"Oh, well, uh... Tuney's staying in town, and she wouldn't... and, uh, our things... uh, Tuney's boyfriend" Lily searched desperately for some excuse to not stay with James for any longer than necessary.

"You don't have to decide now." James's deep blush rivaled Lily's. "Why don't you just come in for tea."

"Well, here I was thinking you didn't like the place in town." Sirius's smirk grew wider by the minute.

"Well, it's ok, but my sister..."

"From what I've heard, you don't really like her either."

"Well, I... uh... Who told you that anyway?"

"Who do you think?"

"Oh. I don't even want to know how he knows."

"Yeah..." Their conversation trailed off there, as the two of them had never really talked about anything other than whether or not Sirius really deserved detention.

"James makes great hot chocolate." At this time, the first thing on Sirius's mind was (of course) food.

"Really?" Lily chose to ignore the inanity of his statement, as she was just glad to have something to talk about.

"Yeah" Glad she took the bait, Sirius continued, "It's really ... chocolatey"

"Yeah? Does he make it with real chocolate?"

"Well, I don't really - This is pathetic."

"Yes. Yes, it is." Lily giggled.

"Do you even care how James makes_ hot chocolate_"

"Well, I do like hot chocolate." Lily's giggles grew into laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation, and all of a sudden - _SMACK_, a snowball launched itself at her, while Sirius tried to innocently hid his wand behind his back.

"What? You were distracted - no one said we weren't playing. " His grin vanished as Lily's glare turned on him, and he took of towards the house, but not before a swarm of snowballs shot after him. By this point James had joined in, launching snow at the two of them from all directions to confuse them.

Lily had charmed enough snow to whip up a mini-blizzard, and by the time she stopped Sirius was soaking wet and on his knees.

"Not fair. She's too good. From now on, she's not allowed to play. You're not allowed to play Lily. I think I need some of that hot chocolate." Sirius took off towards the house.

"If any more snow hits me, you're all dead!" He shouted as he ran, promptly tripping over a tree root and into a snow drift. Spitting, hacking and coughing, he stood, "If I hear about this ever again, you'll all be even deader!"

"Er ... what do we do now?" Lily looked over to see a perfectly calm James, as though this happened all the time.

"Nothing. He'll calm down. Watch out though, he'll probably try and challenge you to a muggle style snow fight. No one's ever gotten the best of him before."

"I can imagine. I'm almost as soaked as he is."

"Oh, right. Why don't we get you inside and dry. I think your Mum and aunt have found their way."

For the first time, the two of them fell into a companionable silence, without constant glares and wands at the ready.

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><p>"So here's a towel for you - there's also a T-shirt and a pair of of pajamas if you want. The loo's right down the hall on the left"<p>

"Are these your clothes?" She blushed at the thought of wearing James Potter's clothes.

"Well I thought... uh... You might need..." James scratched his head nervously as his ears turned pink. "You're all wet, so I thought you could do with some dry clothes."

"Oh, thanks. My skirt's pretty dry, so I won't need these." She handed the pajamas back to James. "What about Sirius?"

"Well he lives here, so I don't think he'll be having any trouble." James's eyes widened as he realized what he said.

"Sirius lives _here_?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know." He mussed his hair as he tried to think of a cover up.

"This is your house James, remember?"

"Haha, right. Yes, he does. It's complicated. Don't ask about it." Lily sneezed. "You'd better go do something about all of that." He pointed at her soaked appearance.

"Right, of course. See you later."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry again at this taking absolutely forever to write. And on top of that, nothing really happens in this anyway. Oh well, I just really wanted to get it up, and the ideas are flowing now, so I will try my best to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.<strong>

**Please please PLEASE check out my Deviantart: thelittlestlady . deviantart . com**

**I've done some character art of James, Sirius and Remus so far - Lily, Peter and the rest are soon to come!**

**Leave a review on the way out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Wow! It's been less than a week since my last update! Totally unexpected and I hope this happens more often**

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><p>James's bathroom rivaled the prefect's bathroom at hogwarts. Not only did the bathtub have nozzles for every kind of water bubbles imaginable, but there was also a shower, every inch of which was covered with various nozzles and handles. Some spouted soapy water, some massaged, and Lily even found a button that caused the ceiling of the shower to rain warm water, which of course led to the complete soaking of her hair and shirt.<p>

After peeling off her clothes and drying her hair, Lily found herself comfortable in James's warm, dry and sweet-smelling shirt. She found him in the kitchen that she had passed through, sitting at the counter with two mugs of steaming hot cocoa and a plate of biscuits.

"Nice shirt." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Thanks. What's all this?"

"I believe you've heard a bit about my hot chocolate?"

"You have no idea. Where's everyone else gone? Sirius really sounded like he was looking forward to it."

"He's already had his. Your mum and aunt liked the house so much that Sirius has gone with them to get your things. And maybe your sister. I hope you don't mind staying here too much."

"It's lovely here." Lily was looking forward to trying out that shower for real, now that she could.

"It has nothing on some of the other old pureblood mansions."

"I don't believe that."

"Really. It's actually pretty new compared to most of them."

"Sirius said something about the Potter name being relatively new."

James snorted. "Families like the Blacks and the Malfoys look down on ours because we didn't get all this money until around the french revolution. I guess Sirius hasn't rejected _everything_ his parents said"

"That sounds like an awfully long time ago though - when did _they_ become so rich?"

"Nobody really knows, and I think they like it that way. There are parts of Malfoy Manor that look almost a thousand years old."

"You've been to the Malfoys' house?"

"Once. They had a huge coming-of-age gala show-off thing for their son. Remember the blond one who was head boy?"

"I thought they looked down on your family."

"But most people respect us. And there are lots rumors surrounding my mum's family. It's all very complicated, this high society thing. I try to avoid it."

"Good rumors or bad? From what you get into at school, it sure _sounds_ like you avoid it pretty well."

"Something about her ancestors being extremely rich and powerful. No one really knows since they've had only daughters in the family for a quite a while.

"What's wrong with daughters?"

"You can't trace the family name. Do you want some more hot chocolate" James asked just as Lily drained her mug.

"Ooh, yes please. This really is good. What's in it? Sirius never got around to telling me that"

"Melted chocolate, milk, and I think I put cinnamon in it this time."

"Cinnamon?"

"Yep. Apparently they they make it like this in Mexico. But more spicy, I think." James poured the rich mixture from the pan into two mugs. "Whipped cream?"

"Yes please."

"So what about your family? Any crazy royal lines?"

"Nothing special. Two kids. Suburban house. Oh yeah, and it's like world war two during holidays."

"Haha. Must be nice to get out."

"If only. The axis powers have been dragged here too."

"Your sister?"

"And her boyfriend. Are these marshmallows?" Lily was holding a goopy gray lump and the hot chocolate was dripping off it and running down her hand.

"That's disgusting."

"I know they are. I can't believe you put them in my hot chocolate." Lily was now picking all the marshmallows out of her mug and piling them in a soggy oozing lump next to it.

"I was talking about what you were doing." He pointed at the lump of half-melted marshmallows.

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Want some?"

"Ew. No. What's wrong with marshmallows anyway? You got something personal against fluffy deliciousness?"

"Fluffy? I think slimy. Gooey. Soft."

"Soft?"

"I dunno. I just think they're too soft."

"You hate bunnies too? How about beds? Do you sleep on a rock? Some nails maybe?"

"It's like eating a pillow. Seriously."

"So you do sleep on a bed of rocks. Sorry hun, but we only have really nice beds in this house."

"Why would I care what kind of bed you sleep on?"

"You're going to be staying here, remember?"

"Right. Well from the look of this place, I would have assumed you all slept on bales of hay."

"Really?"

"No, you idiot. This place is amazing."

"I know."

"I always knew you were modest."

"Well it's not exactly like living in a castle came as a big shock." And just like that, they had fallen into an easy banter. No awkward pauses, dancing around subjects.

"Are you done?" Lily stood up with her mug and James's, intending to wash them.

"Are you mad? You're not doing that." Still playing the gracious host, he took them from her, insisting on doing it himself. Of course, James Potter had never washed his own dishes before, so he need Lily's constant instructions, and his inability to do even this simplest domestic task sent the pair into a fit of sudsy giggles.

Sirius walked in the door with Lily's bag.

"Well, this is new."

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><p><strong>AN: This chapter's for some random guy with a blog. I suppose I did call it "your damn chapter," and, well, they finally got to that hot chocolate, didn't they?<strong>

**My lovely folks are dragging me off the mountains or something to sleep in some non-enchanted tent that's not at all like the one in deathly hallows next week, so updating could be a while. I'll try to handwrite the next bit while I'm gone, but I don't know how likely that is.**

**Review make me melt like chocolate chips in a cookie.**


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